


Despite This Mask Of Happiness, I Drown in Dark Despair

by MsFaust



Series: Inky Tales [206]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine, Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Crossover, Faustian Bargain, Good AU, In that Joey’s not a homicidal lunatic, Minor Character Death, Wakes & Funerals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-30
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2020-02-10 08:06:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18656374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsFaust/pseuds/MsFaust
Summary: What if the Ink Demon was an Eldritch witch?(Because let’s face it: the ‘studio’ being an Eldritch witch’s barrier makes far too much sense.)





	1. Part 1

With a sigh, Joey set down the papers. His studio was now officially a subsidiary of Joyworks. No doubt it would be a major part in the same way Pixar was a major part of Disney, but even so, it was clear that their days of independence were over. Still, it would all be worth it to accomplish his greatest dream.  
  
Closing his eyes, he thought back to the argument he’d had with his sister Linda the day before...  
  
_”I thought you actually gave a damn about the show!” Linda shouted at him. “Now you’re just going to throw it all away? And for what?”_  
  
” _You don’t understand.” Joey held up his his hands, hoping Linda would calm down and listen to him._

_“Damn right I don’t!” she cut him off. “You have no idea what I sacrificed to support you. I wanted you to succeed in your dream and inspire kids to follow their own, like you always talked about when we were kids! But now you’re selling out!”_  
  
” _I’m not!” Joey insisted. “Please, Linda, let me explain...”_  
  
“ _Forget it!” Linda snapped. “Money isn’t the way to make your dreams come true, and it’s not worth selling your soul for!”_  
  
_With that, she turned and left, slamming the door behind her._  
  
He hadn’t seen her since then, and he felt terrible about it. But the Ink Machine was going to be expensive to build, especially in a way that would minimize the inconvenience to the staff. True, there were probably other ways to bring Bendy and his friends to life, but as far as he knew, this one was the least likely to cause serious injury or other forms of damage to anyone. No way he was going to put the JDS staff in harm’s way if it could be avoided.  
  
“Joey!”  
  
The urgency in Wally’s tone made Joey look up sharply, and the expression on his face stopped him from telling the janitor off for being careless with the door.  
  
“It’s Linda! Something’s wrong!”  
  
Leaping from his chair, Joey followed Wally through the hallways, up the stairs, and into a small room leading from the music department to the animators’ offices. Sammy and Norman were kneeling beside the lifeless body of Linda, Norman trying desperately to resuscitate her.  
  
“We just found her like this, I swear!”  
  
“I believe you, Sammy,” Joey reassured him.  
  
Dropping to his knees, he gently pushed Norman aside to look. There were no signs of injury, but it was clear she’d been crying before she died.  
  
“Hey, her ring’s gone!” Wally held up Linda’s hand. “She always had this silver ring with funny-looking symbols on it, but it’s not here.”  
  
Joey’s eyes went wide in horror. Being as knowledgeable about magic as he was, he knew, in that instant, what had happened.  
  
While he wasn’t enough of a fool to sell his soul, she was.  
  
“Linda, what have you done?”


	2. Bonus Chapter: Profiles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While we won’t actually be seeing the witch’s barrier here, I thought you might be interested in the profiles of its residents.

Maximillia Karolina (The Ink Machine/‘Bendy’)  
The Ink Demon Grand Witch whose nature is to believe. She possesses a false body resembling a demon made of ink, which she controls remotely. Destroying her false body will cause time within the barrier to reset, but if her true body—a bizarre machine that constantly spews ink—is destroyed, she will be defeated. She detests liars and traitors, and won’t let anyone leave her barrier, not even familiars that have evolved into witches.  
(Name derived from Max Fleischer and Charles Mintz [Karolina is an Eastern European derivative of Caroline, a feminine equivalent of Charles].)  
  
Helena Elizabeth (‘Alice’)  
The Scarred Angel Witch with a proud nature. Though she believes herself to have once been human, she is actually a former familiar who gained power by feeding on other familiars of the Ink Demon witch. She hates her former mistress, and does everything she can to aggravate her. She uses the insides of minions to improve her appearance, but will never achieve perfection.  
(Name derived from Helen of Troy and Elizabeth Bathory.)  
—————  
(Minions)  
  
Bakshi (Searchers)  
Minions of the Ink Demon witch. Their duty is to trap intruders in ink. Individually, they are not very strong, relying on numbers. Anyone who falls victim to them is turned into a humanlike creature made of ink.  
(Name derived from Ralph Bakshi, director of the cult film _Cool World_.)  
  
Stoughton (Prophet)  
Minion of the Ink Demon witch. His duty is to tend the witch’s shrines. He was created from the witch’s memories of a music writer, and will often compose songs when the shrines do not need tending. When he captures an intruder, he will attempt a ritualistic sacrifice, but the witch finds this annoying, and would rather he simply bring them to her.  
(Name derived from William Stoughton, a major figure in the Salem Witch Trials.)  
  
Hugh, Dewey, and Louis (Piper, Fisher, and Striker)  
Minions of the Scarred Angel witch. Their duty is to act as puppets. They will often chase each other around for no reason, but will flee from the witch if she appears, afraid that she will take their insides.  
(Names derived from Hewy, Dewy, and Louie, Donald Duck’s nephews.)  
  
Floyd (Projectionist)  
Minion of the Ink Demon witch. His duty is to play cartoons. Guided by the light that shines from his head, he wanders the barrier endlessly, projecting short cartoons onto the wall. Because of his great strength, the Scarred Angel witch will sometimes use him as a bodyguard, which angers the Ink Demon witch.  
(Name derived from Floyd Norman.)  
  
Ferenc (Bertrum)  
Minion of the Ink Demon witch. His duty is to be a carousel. Due to his size and strength, he may be mistaken for a witch. Luckily, he is immobile and can only attack by swinging his arms and pounding the ground. When defeated, the sound of a low male voice moaning can be heard, along with gears grinding to a halt.  
(Named derived from Franz Liszt, who composed the Faust Symphony.)  
  
Paris (‘Boris’)  
Minion of the Scarred Angel witch. His duty is to guide victims. Torn between loyalty to his mistress and his fear of her, he will attempt to help potential victims escape. However, he will always be caught by the witch, and forced to assume his true form and attack.  
(Name derived from Paris of Troy.)


	3. Part 2

It seemed only fitting that Linda’s funeral took place in the rain. Standing beneath umbrellas, the entire staff of Joey Drew Studios watched as the sister of their founder was laid to rest. More than a few of them were openly crying. When it was over, most of the attendees left, the only exceptions being Joey and Henry.  
  
“Do you think the studio would have become as successful if she hadn’t made that wish?” Joey asked.  
  
“I hope so,” Henry replied. Like the rest of the staff, he’d been told about the contract Linda had made, and warned to keep an eye out for the Incubator—not as hard as it sounded, since being around an experienced practitioner of magic like Joey Drew had made them more magically aware. The knowledge that his wife had made a Faustian pact had been heartbreaking to Henry, yet the details of said pact did explain quite a few things. For example, Linda’s soul being outside her body explained why she was barren (he’d never had the heart to tell Sally that she was adopted).  
  
“You know, the whole idea of magical girls sounded silly to me at first,” admitted Joey. “But I ran into entries about different kinds in the course of my research, and it doesn’t seem so silly any more.”  
  
“There are other kinds of magical girls?”  
  
“Many others kinds,” Joey said with a nod. “And while none of them know exactly what the Incubators are doing, they know that their claims of staving off heat death are flat-out lies. So are their claims that they got us out of caves—there have been magical girls throughout history, but Puella Magi have only existed here since roughly the early twentieth century.”  
  
Henry raised an eyebrow. “Really?”  
  
“Yep,” answered Joey. “And they’re far from the only paranormal things to have affected Earth’s history, whether they did so from the shadows or have become renowned after their time.”  
  
“More things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy,” quoted Henry.  
  
“Unfortunately, some of those things are malevolent,” Joey sighed. “But there are good things too. Matter of fact, I think I’ve actually found a safe way to achieve our magnum opus...”


	4. Part 3

“How is he?”  
  
“Worn out,” Joey answered. “Can’t say I blame him—it’s his very first day in this world.”  
  
Seating himself beside Joey, Henry gave a small smile as he looked at the slumbering form curled up in the beanbag chair Henry had scrounged up. Bringing Bendy to life hadn’t been easy, especially since Joey was determined to avoid sacrificing any live beings (especially humans). In addition, the studio director wanted Bendy to be as close to his on-screen counterpart as possible. Much to his and Henry’s mutual relief, they were able to combine several spells, including one used to create golems, to make the Little Devil Darling real. The two had no doubt that Bendy would be just as happy to meet the rest when they came in on Monday as he had his creators.  
  
 _After what happened to Linda_ , Henry thought. _It’s comforting to know that we got a happy ending._  
  
Nothing the look on his longtime friend’s face, Joey tapped Henry on the shoulder.  
  
“What’s on your mind?”  
  
“Linda would have loved to see him,” Henry answered. “Do you think any of this would have been possible if she hadn’t made that contract?”  
  
“I don’t know,” Joey admitted. “On the one hand, she paid a hefty price for our success, but on the other...”  
  
With a sad smile, Joey reached over and stroked the slumbering demon’s head. “All we can do is make sure her unwitting sacrifice wasn’t in vain.”  
  
“Oh, it definitely wasn’t in vain.” Henry reassured his friend. “At least some good came out of her Faustian deal.”  
  
Joey had to agree.


End file.
